Luecht and Marsalli Place 1st and 2nd in 200-Meter Dash at Willamette Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Jennifer Luecht (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) and Lydia Marsalli (So., Klamath Falls, OR/Klamath Union HS) excelled for Willamette University in the dashes, as the Bearcats concluded the Willamette Invitational on Saturday, April 5 at the Charles Bowles Track. Luecht won the 200-meter dash in 26.23 seconds, with Marsalli in second place at 26.32. Marsalli won the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.65 seconds, while Luecht finished fourth in 59.90.

Also for Willamette, Jordyn Smith (Sr., Henderson, NV/Green Valley HS) took second in the women's 400-meter hurdles. She recorded a solid time of 1:04.14, nearly matching her NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:03.90 from the Point Loma Nazarene Meet on March 29. Lisa Mensonides of George Fox University won the 400 hurdles in 1:02.93.

The Bearcat women placed fourth in the 4 x 100-meter relay, as Willamette earned a time of 50.08 seconds. Running for the 'Cats were Luecht, Marsalli, St. John and Danielle Barnett (Fr., Myrtle Point, OR/Myrtle Point HS). WU finished just 0.18 seconds out of third place. Clackamas Community College won the event at 48.62 seconds.

Melinda Fahey (Sr., Salem, OR/McKay HS), who finished third in the hammer throw on Friday at 147'6", added another top five finish by taking fourth in the discus on Saturday with a throw of 128'1". The discus was won by Judith Burnett of Team XO with a toss of 150'10".

In the women's 100-meter dash, Kaitlin St. John (So., Bend, OR/Mountain View HS) of Willamette placed eighth. She ran the race in 13.00 seconds. She was 0.18 seconds out of fourth place. Chanel James of Spokane Community College took first in the 100 with a time of 12.23 seconds.

George Colton (So., Pasadena, CA/Whittier College) completed the 100-meter dash for Willamette in a 11.28 seconds. His time was the second-fastest by a Northwest Conference athlete this season. Colton took 12th place among 39 entries.

The 100 was won by Michael Madrid from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, who clocked in at 10.89 seconds. He won by just 0.01 seconds over Nate Washington of Clark College and was only 0.04 in front of Eric Dahl from Team XO, who finished third.

In the men's 400-meter dash WU's Tristan Bodding-Long (So., Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS) was eighth with a time of 51.02 seconds. A.K. Ikwuakor of Team XO won the 400 in 49.12 seconds. The top collegiate finisher was James McClaughlin of Alaska-Anchorage, who was timed at 49.61 seconds and took second place.

Ryan Bailey, a 2007 graduate of McKay High School in Salem who ran unattached, won the 110 hurdles in 14.13 seconds. In addition, Bailey won the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.20 seconds.

Lackman also ran for Willamette the 400-meter hurdles and finished in sixth place at 56.52 seconds. Shaun Ward of Alaska-Anchorage placed first in 54.96 seconds.

WU was second in the men's 4 x 400-meter relay, as Bodding-Long, Abe Moland (Fr., Spokane, WA/St. George's School), Andy Meuser (So., Portland, OR/Woodrow Wilson HS) and Jose Green (Fr., Downey, CA/Warren HS) recorded a time of 3:24.39. Alaska-Anchorage was first at 3:22.99.

Colby Takeda (Fr., Mililani, HI/Iolani HS) of Willamette tied for fourth in the men's pole vault, as he cleared 11'11.75". First place went to Adam Brink of Lane Community College with a vault of 14'11".

In the men's long jump, James Yamashita (Jr., Walnut Creek, CA/Diablo Valley College) placed eighth. He went 21'3.5" and was only 2.5 inches out of fifth place. David Registe of Alaska-Anchorage registered a winning leap of 24'0.25".

Willamette claimed fifth place and sixth place in the men's shot put, as Jacob Monroe (Jr., Keizer, OR/McNary HS) went 45'9" and Josh Clothier (Fr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) threw 44'1.5". Steve Collins (Fr., Zillah, WA/Zillah HS) of Willamette was 12th the 43-man field with a throw of 43'3.25".

Monroe placed second in the discus. His recorded a distance of 145'11" and was roughly four inches behind the winner, Dave Howard of Spokane CC, who achieved a toss of 150'0".

The winner of the men's javelin was Cyrus Hostetler of Lane CC. His top throw was 217'6". Brandt Nevin (Fr., Eagle Point, OR/Eagle Point HS) of Willamette placed 10th at 167'9".

The Willamette Invitational was the largest ever. A total of 950 athletes competed, with 1,600 entries overall. There were 57 collegiate and club teams involved in the event.

Willamette's next track and field action will be the Northwest Conference heptathlon and decathlon, set for Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8 at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. The Bearcats also will compete at the L&C Invitational in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 12.